Masquerade, Paper Faces on Parade
The Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center “Behind the Scenes” article notes that the restoration crew spent hours organizing the Fort Scott scenery prior to restoring and installing the scenes. Eighteen months earlier, I had already completed the organization of the Fort Scott collection, determining the necessary alterations and creating a book that outlined my plans for the impending restoration and installation. The online article now credits all of this work to Kimber Lawler and Mia Schillace-Nelson in the article section, “Trimming.”
The article’s author writes,
“The team first lays out each scene in its original configuration – one on top of the other – to find the best line for trimming the drops to fit the Ives stage and rigging system. Trimming work is slow and meticulous so that the scene remains in proportion and hangs properly.”
First, I will clarify what “trimming” means to those unversed in technical theatre jargon. A set is “trimmed” when it has been placed in the desired position within the performance area. The online article misleads the reader, crediting Lawler and Schillace-Nelson with the difficult task of determining the Fort Scott scenery order for the Ives Theater.
I determined the placement of each Fort Scott drop for the Ives stage during December 2015. This information was published in a book that I distributed to the Minnesota Masonic Charities staff, the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center staff, and the theatre consulting firm in January 2016. I then shared my personal copy with the Grand Lodge Secretary so that he could peruse our great find after realizing that he was unfamiliar with my work.
I also created other documents pertaining to the collection for future use in constructing the restoration timeline, ordering necessary materials, and planning alterations for each drop. These secondary documents included information requested by our theatre consulting firm, such as specific drop order and my estimated weight load for each line to order the necessary counterweights. The continued use of information from my documents was even noted by the MMHC general director during communications with Singers in Accord Concert representatives when he stated, “Don’t worry, we’re still using Wendy’s drop order!”
To understand the overall absurdity of what is presented in the online article, one must understand the process necessary to alter and install a Scottish Rite collection created for a different Masonic venue. The process is much more than laying out one drop on top of another to plan the placement of used scenery in a new venue as the online article suggests.
Each drop in a scene needs to be individually lit as it was for the original venue, or great shadows will be cast on the upstage drops (those farthest away from the audience). The theatre consultant and I closely worked out the initial placement of drops and lights within the new rigging system designed by Dan Culhane, current president of USITT, during December 2014 – well before we acquired an historical scenery collection. Our final 2015 plans took into account the complete lighting of each drop in every painted scene. Ideally, portable strip lights would light the lower portion of each scene too.
There was a second consideration for the organization of the Fort Scott collection as it was primarily purchased for Masonic degree work. Degree work takes place on both the stage and the auditorium floor. Each degree requires a certain amount of stage depth and not all productions are consistent. You have to understand what each degree requires to anticipate the necessary floor work and stage work. Remember, as the CEO repeatedly explained to his team that both of the Scottish Rite Valleys would leave their current homes, combine to form one Valley, and rent space in the Ives auditorium for their degrees. This is also why the apron of the stage can be lowered to floor level and the first two rows of auditorium seating removed – to accommodate degree work.
I was familiar with the degree work for both the Minneapolis and St. Paul Valleys and determined what scenes to use and where to place each scene in the Ives theatre. Although the scenery was coming from another Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite Valley, there are numerous regional discrepancies that need to be taken into account in the selection and placement of individual compositions. For me, this was the most difficult task in re-configuring the drop collection for a new space. Additionally, the project drew on years of independent research pertaining to the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees and the recent ritual revisions.
The December 2014 organization of an anticipated historical scenery collection with a new version of a Scottish Rite rigging system. Almost all Scottish Rite theaters have rigging systems with lines on 2″-4″ centers. Dan Culhane designed a new system to replicate and old system of dedicated lines in a traditional counterweight system.
If the current restoration crew did all of this same work again, Minnesota Freemasons paid for the same work twice.
There is another aspect to consider, one that looks at the bigger picture and identifies those who take credit for another’s work or erase the contributions of others. Unfortunately, Minnesota Masonic Charities and the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center have recently fallen into the pattern of misleading the public, specifically misrepresenting the contributions of those who were involved with the planning and construction of this center.
I believe that this pattern of behavior will cause the general public to not trust the intentions or statements of the Fraternity. It could also have an affect on all other Masonic activities, especially charitable contributions in the future. If an organization perpetuates falsehoods about something as simple as scholarly contributions, are they truthful about their financial disclosures?
If this solely concerned my work, I might consider it a personal vendetta against me. However, the contributions of other nationally recognized experts have now been erased from the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center’s institutional history. One example is the written contributions for the Ladd Museum produced by Arturo de Hoyos, Grand Archivist and Historian of the Supreme Council in Washington D.C. Many of his original writings are now attributed to a Minnesota Masonic Charities staff member who is listed as the sole museum exhibit writer (see past installment 52).
Why is De Hoyos not credited for his contributions? Why am I not credited for my contributions? Why take such pains to hide the truth regarding who did the work? This practice appears to be the antithesis of Masonic principles, yet it continues without any reprimand or oversight.
To be continued…
Here is the link to the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center “Behind the Scenes” article in its entirety: http://www.masonicheritagecenter.org/…/05/behind-the-scenes/
